2013-01-01 - Raising Havok
Finally! Fantomex had obtained the information Alex needed. A Slade from the other Earth who is a mercenary? The infamous Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke! His contact had come through, but Fantomex already pulled up a hell of a lot of information on Deathstroke to hand over to Alex to review before deciding to face the man. The man's current location is the Thunberbolts Headquarters as the trainer of the new government superhero team of psychotic killers. His current residence is unknown at this time. The information included in the packet includes the highly publicized battle between him and the then Teen Titans, where he was reported to have killed team member Terra. He was released from prison when a Deathstroke was shown wandering about, casting doubt on his identity. There was later a major manhunt for Deathstroke, which is believed to have resulted in his death. He later showed up again after helping stop Cheshire's operation after she blew up Qurac, celebrated as a hero by the U.S. Government. He has quite a track record, and is believed to have assassinated some high-up co-op runners in the U.S. Government when they set-up him and tried to use him as a very dead scrap goat (this was before the manhunt thing). Slade Wilson is a divorced man, his ex-wife and both his sons are reported to be legally dead. A highly decorated war hero, he is in his 70s. The photos have him appearing much younger than that however, though with white hair which he has had apparently since discharged from the army with honors. Photos are included of his old family, along with current photos of him, and his Deathstroke costume. It includes basics on fighting style which include hand-to-hand combat, guns, sword, power staff, acrobatics, and anything else he can get his hands on. There is no mention of his daughter Rose, as that is not public knowledge. After getting the information from Fantomex, Alex finds himself standing in front of the Thunderbolts Headquarters. On one level, he was a little intimidated that this is the man who trains and reforms psychotic killers. But his concern for Kenzie is what spurns him on. Not to mention that a 70 year old man has no business dating an 18 year old girl, no matter what universe he came from. Gathering his courage, he steps into the building and prepares to undergo whatever security measures he has to. "Excuse me, I'm here to see Slade Wilson. I don't have an appointment." The help is scarce and all government types from the looks of things, but paper pushers. At the entrance way, the tiled floor glares with the too-bright lighting from overhead. But least the sitting area has carpet, but the plastic chairs appear painful to sit on for any length of time. The guy at the front security desk, is already alert when Alex enters. He almost looks confused when Alex asks that, and actually says, "But no one actually /wants/ to speak with Deathstroke." He eyes Alex, wondering if the young man is someone that wants to hire him. "What's your name? I'll let him know you are here, and it will be up to him," the not very friendly security guard says, before pointing toward that evil sitting area. Alex Summers clears his throat. "My name is Alex Summers. Tell him that it's regarding Kensington Young." He nods to the security guy and then moves to sit down in the waiting area. He was feeling pretty good about himself. The old Alex would have walked in here making demands and creating a scene. But that wasn't him anymore. The thought that he was turning into Scott enters his head again and he pushes it away just as quickly. That would never happen in a million years. The security guard ends up speaking into a comm-system. And he is quiet for a bit, before there is a rough and gravely, deep voice that responds through the intercom: "Be there shortly." The security guard then looks up, "Deathstroke will be out shortly, Mr. Summers." He goes back to watching the monitors and pretending not to be majorly curious. It is still almost ten minutes, before Deathstroke comes out from the training hall wing. He heads to the main area, and then to the front of the center section of headquarters to find Alex sitting in the waiting area. He is fully armed with guns and his power staff, but his sword is missing. His mask is on, and he does appear deadly and dangerous, just like the photos provided indicated. He is silent for a moment, as if seeing if Alex will speak or make his move first. Alex Summers rises from his seat when the man appears. Alex was over six feet himself, but the man was still very intimidating. He steps over to him and offers his hand. "Mr. Wilson. I'm Alexander Summers, an instructor from the Xavier's Institute...actually I'm one of Kenzie's teachers. First of all, thank you for taking time out of your schedule to meet with me." He pauses. "Um..would it be possible for me to speak to you face to face?" He idily motions to the mask. "If it's not too much trouble?" He really is trying to be nice and presentable. And it's probably obvious that he's a mutant as well since he teaches at the school. Deathstroke's gauntlet is heavy when he reaches to accept the handshake. His grip powerful, but not quite painful...just borderline. His voice is very deep and rough sounding, "Wilson or Deathstroke is fine." But he then nods, "I know who you are, I remember the footage of the assassination attempt during that pro-mutant rally." And about his mask, he says, "Come to my office first." Deathstroke then turns about sharply and starts to walk, expecting you to follow him as he heads toward the back area and the offices there. Alex Summers nods once and then wordlessly follows the man back to his office. He takes the opportunity to look around as he walks, taking note of the decor and the sort of people that seem to work here. "I understand that you're a military funded group. That's...interesting." Considering people like Slade would have been persecuted or manipulated by SHIELD if they were from his own reality. "I'm just paid to do training. Any operation I participate in is as support, unless I actually give a shit. The chances of that is pretty much next to zill." Deathstroke is no hero, that much is clear. He is doing this for the money. But he walks with purpose, his heavy boots perhaps surprisingly quiet on the hard floor. He pauses in front of a door marked 'Trainer's Office', and pauses outside of it, listening carefully. "Good, he isn't there again. Damn Deadpool." Only then, does he open the door and step inside. Getting pounce attacked once by the fellow mercenary while he was high on sugar was bad enough, never again. And no, he doesn't feel bad for shooting the bastard! Alex Summers frowns slightly. "We've had our fair share of problems with Deadpool as well. I'm surprised you tolerate him." He enters the office behind Slade and waits for the door to close. He doesn't sit down until offered a seat and he tries to keep his body language casual even though his senses are on high alert. "I'm not surprised you recognized me. That assassination thing was all over the news." Deathstroke steps aside to let Alex enter before shutting the door. The office is not too cramped, but is not spacious. He motions for Alex to take a seat in the wooden chair in front of his desk, before he reaches up to remove the cloth mask he wears. He also removes some of the weapons as he reaches the desk to set them down upon it, as if not having any concerned that you will grab for them. "I do not tolerate him, I merely learned that hurting him does not deter him from his actions." Yes, just like the photos, pure white hair with lines on his face to indicate age. Yet, he moves as a man in his prime, and does not look close to his 70-some years, rather in his 40s instead with his face alone. Once disarmed enough that he has room to sit down, Slade will take the seat behind his desk. "Now, I doubt the assassination attempt is something that you are wanting to converse about," his tone having shifted. His voice is smoother suddenly, but still deep. He also sounds more educated as well. It is a minor thing, but noticeable. His elbows move to rest on the desk, and his hands clasp in front of him at chest height when he leans a touch forward. The pile of dangerous weapons resting between the two of you. "Is Young alright?" Beautifully played, no? After those news postings. Alex Summers eyes the weapons briefly before moving to look the older man in the eye. Alex doesn't intimidate easily, though this man still puts him on edge, even though he seemed to be relaxed. "She's fine. A little banged up, but she's healing well. But that's not what I'm here to talk about." He pauses and takes a breath, getting to the point. "I don't know how much about her life she's told you, but she's..very impressionable. She told me that you two have been seeing each other and frankly, I have concerns about that. I did some research on you, and your past. And as her friend as well as her instructor, I'm concerned for her well being being around you..considering the company you keep on a daily basis. My primary concern is that she isn't being used or her abilities exploited by those that would use them for personal gain." And Wilson, actually smirks openly, and chuckles low in his throat. He appears removed, his blue eyes cold and watchful. "You should be." He sounds much more amused than actually intimidated by any threat Alex has to his and Kenzie's so-called 'relationship'. His hands unclasp and he moves to rest back in his seat, arms moving to his chair arms to rest. "Whatever research you did, did not even touch half of it kid," Wilson freely admits. "Want to know how my youngest son died? I stabbed him in the back with my own sword, and watched him till his heart stopped." His eyes narrow slightly, but reflect no real emotion. "Right in front of all those damn tweeny Titans. And why? Because they couldn't do the damn job, and save the world. Hero teams are a joke. They are a Band-Aid on a festering wound that is never going to heal. If you think I'm going to just let Young sit prettily in her protected cage blindly as the world gives her the shaft, you can think again." There is a dramatic pause, before Wilson continues. "I'm damn good at what I do kid; and that's either breaking someone to their end, or breaking someone to build them up." He then shrugs slightly, "Young, she was breaking in the wrong way; and if not me, then she would find someone else. She's a loose canon right now, with no direction. She sees all these wants and desires, but they are up high atop this mountain, and she's deep down in this gutter. So she closes her eyes, and she begs, begs for anyone to pick her up." Slade smirks openly then, "Well, fuck that. She's going to pick herself up. It isn't going to be pretty, but she will stand on her own two feet when she's done with me. And I say 'done with me', cause no one that wants to live till tomorrow sticks around for long. And she will learn that to. But nothing you say will convince her of that kid. She's got to learn herself, believe in herself before she will open her eyes to shit." And how Slade twists everything he has done with Kenzie to be in her best interest, and perhaps in a way it is. Alex Summers' blue eyes never waver during Slade's speech. "Wilson, I may be much younger than you, but I am not without my own experiences. In my world, I've been persecuted since the day I was born. I have a madman who is after my family for our genetic benefits..if you get my drift. But I agree that Kensington does need to learn how the world works. But she doesn't need to become jaded while she learns those lessons. I don't approve of what you're doing with her. And no, she's not going to listen to me right now, I know that. But for some reason, she listens to you, and you need to be the one tell her to get off this path of self-destruction and come back to the people who actually love her, and want to teach her to grow as a person /while/ she learns those life lessons. Despite being handed the shaft by being born as a mutant, I believe that there is still good in the world, and that not everyone out there wants to stab you in the back at the first opportunity." "Those are pretty ideals," Slade says with a slight shake of his head. "Makes me wish I experienced them at some point in my life; except, they do not exist except in your own head." He smirks, "But well played Mr. Summers. You have an older brother, don't you?" Is he going somewhere with this? But he lets it slide, "In either case, when Young is ready, if she ever is, she will go 'home' to your warm and so very loving arms, just friendly and teacherly arms of course." How did he pick that up?! Did Kenzie tell him something?! But Wilson then chuckles. "So, how has her self-control over her powers been doing? Has she been hiding less, terrified of her own powers less?" Wilson looks dead into Alex's eyes. Alex looks so much like him when he was a young man, when he still held his own ideals in the army..is it the blonde hair and blue eyes, or the shape of his face, or the fact he refuses to flinch? The thought makes him frown very slightly, "You walk a dangerous line, you know that?" Alex Summers does flinch slightly when Slade makes mention that he might know of his and Kensington's relationship. "The ideals may seem lofty to you, but I know it's possible. I've seen it. The way that the humans from your world accept the metas on their merit, not on their genetics. Yeah, I have an older brother." He answers. If there was something there, he either doesn't care, or doesn't think about it that way. "The nature of the relationship between Kensington and myself is nobody's business but ours. And to answer your question, yes, she's showing improvement in controlling her powers. But she was doing that before she met you. She and I are a lot alike in that aspect. I had power control issues myself." He smirks faintly at that last comment. "I do walk a dangerous line. It's my job. And should I need to be, I'm a dangerous man as well. But I'm not looking for a pissing contest here, Wilson. I just want you to back off the girl..." And your response makes Slade chuckle and relax a little further, "You don't know what dangerous is kid. And I'm sure your big brother would be curious about your 'relationship' with Young." A threat, and empty one, or merely observation? "Still, she has improved dramatically with my tutorage." Wilson then shakes her head, "She is not like you kid. She has a killer sleeping inside her, one that would live for revenge and making the world burn. You? You would become the walking dead if you walked that path, but Young, I she could handle it and thrive even." But it is perhaps Wilson's own words that make him fall deathly quiet after that. "I'll speak with her, but I don't promise any particular result," Wilson finally says. Was that why the old man was drawn to her, Kenzie's potential darkness? Alex Summers replies. "And that is exactly what I seek to stop. She has the potential to do exactly that, and I don't believe that is the right path for her. It's always her choice what to do with her life, but how can she do that if you keep poisoning her with this dark side crap? I've been there. I've been manipulated because of the chaos and destruction I can cause with my powers. I don't want that to happen to her. Her father is to blame for a lot of her issues, and she needs to learn that not everyone feels that way about her." He pauses and actually laughs. "Please..dude..you don't know my brother. Scott trusts me. He trusts me to do to the right thing. But you probably wouldn't know anything about that." Slade shakes his head at Alex, "I do...I do know very much about trust." And he betrayed Wintergreens' trust in him, murdering him while under the control of his youngest son. That pain never goes away. "Sometimes, you just never know kid, you just never know." His expression is kept carefully blank at those words. "In either case, I'll pick her up after work if that's alright 'Mr. Trustworthy & Dangerous'." Alex Summers stands up from his seat and nods. "Fine. Thank you for your time. I should be heading back." He waits to see if he'll be shown out, or if he's going to be allowed to just find the exit on his own. Slade will see Alex out after he gets all his weapons back in place. He pulls his mask back on before he steps out of his office. He will not say anything, until you both are at the main entrance. He turns to look at you, "Again, I don't make any promises. If she comes to me, I will not promise to turn her away." But he then turns his back and walks away, having absently over one shoulder, "See ya kiddo." Alex Summers frowns heavily after Slade leaves, his eyes burning yellow as his anger rises. But the X-Man closes his eyes and takes some deep breaths, calming himself. "I hate being called kiddo." Stuffing his hands back into his pockets, he moves to return to the motorcycle he 'borrowed' from Fantomex. It's so much cooler than his, he couldn't help it.